Tadpole Galaxy (UGC 10214)

A spiral galaxy that has been grossly
distorted by a small interloper – a nearby, blue
compact galaxy visible. The Tadpole lies about 420 million light-years
away in the constellation Draco. Strong gravitational
forces from the interaction have created an incredibly long tail of stars
and gas stretching out more than 280,000 light-years. Numerous young blue
stars and star clusters, spawned by the galaxy collision, are seen in the
spiral arms, as well as in the long tidal tail of stars. Each of these clusters
contains up to a million stars and will redden with age to become in time
globular clusters similar to those found
in essentially all halos of large galaxies,
including our own Milky Way. Two prominent clumps of young bright blue stars
are visible in the tidal tale and are separated by a gap. These will likely
become dwarf galaxies that orbit in the Tadpole's halo.